All in good temp time

15-Oct-2008

As the recession bites, recruiters are increasingly looking at innovative ways of managing the candidate supply chain to improve gross margins.

Recruitment agencies are seeing the commercial benefit of working in partnership with Slivers-of-Time, a web-based employment marketplace, which has linked up with agencies in London, Yorkshire, Cambridge and Liverpool.

The government-backed initiative is aimed at candidates, looking for short-term temporary work, to communicate directly with employers, who are looking to service peaks in demand or special projects, via text and email. The screening, compliance and payroll process is managed by recruiters.

Jonathan Margrave has recently set up online London recruitment agency Job Gap with a plan to simplify the recruitment process for temp clients in London, who require staff for irregular shifts. He approached Slivers-of-Time to supply the online platform for his business to source a ready supply of unskilled and semi-skilled staff to high demand clients on a 24/7 basis in retail, print media distribution, call centres, and hospitality and catering.

He told Recruiter: “According to research carried out by global management firm Accenture, there are 14m people in the UK who want to work in this way, which is hugely exciting.

“Slivers is a clever piece of kit which allows a clear and transparent recruitment transaction without the manipulation of a middle person.

“The key is that it is a controlled environment where clients can access candidates when they want them and we can provide them with professional front and back office services. Clients and candidates will always be able to contact us by phone.”

Branded Slivers-of-Time agencies work with clients predominantly in the public sector like the NHS and local authorities, with the emphasis on a cost-effective model for clients and not higher margins for agencies, said Margrave.

“But it does provide increased revenue and candidates. On a commercial level, it has the potential to be huge,” he added.

Slivers is also providing the technological platform for Chris Chidley, managing director of Driver Hire, who opened a separate franchise, DH Recruitment, specifically to help Leeds City Council source temporary staffing gaps in all its departments.

Chidley told Recruiter that DH has become a “formative part” of the way the city council delivers its services and provides a service that traditional recruitment agency models are unable to accommodate effectively because it is so efficient. He is keen to roll out the service in the private sector by sourcing skilled candidates.

Meanwhile, Chris Leonard, chief executive of generalist recruiter Edge Recruits, who has operated a web-based recruitment service from Devon for several years, told Recruiter he used the Slivers’ technology to set up JobBid, in partnership with local employers such as Exeter University to source student jobs.

JobBid provides a service for both the variable temp contract market and the large temp contracts typified by low margins, added Leonard.

“It has not only lowered costs but has made the whole process more efficient for candidates and clients,” he said.